The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare revised guidelines for the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), increasing the procurement limit of crops to 25 per cent from 20 per cent. The guidelines have been revised to encourage states to implement the MIS.

The MIS is a component of PM-AASHA scheme.

PM-AASHA

• Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) is an umbrella scheme to ensure Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers.

• It comprises Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS), Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) and Price Stabilisation Funds (PSF). 

• The integrated scheme of PM-AASHA aimed to bring-in more effectiveness in the implementation of procurement operations that would not only help in providing remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce but also control the price volatility of essential commodities by ensuring their availability at affordable prices to consumers. 

• The Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare administers PSS, PDPS and MIS, whereas the Department of Consumer Affairs administers PSF Scheme.

1) Price Support Scheme (PSS): PSS is implemented for the procurement of notified pulses, oilseeds and copra of Fair Average Quality (FAQ) at MSP directly from the farmers by central nodal agencies like National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) or through state level agencies as and when the market price of these commodities fall below the notified MSP during the peak harvesting season to provide remunerative price to the farmers.

2) Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS): PDPS envisages the payment of the price difference between the MSP and the selling/modal price to pre-registered farmers selling oilseeds of prescribed Fair Average Quality (FAQ) norms within the stipulated period in the notified market yard through a transparent auction process. However, states/UTs have an option to implement either PSS or PDPS for the particular oilseeds for the particular year/season. This scheme does not involve any physical procurement of crops as the farmers are compensated for the difference between the MSP and sale/modal price on sale in notified market. 

3) Market Intervention Scheme (MIS): The MIS is implemented on the request of state/UT governments for procurement of various perishable agricultural/horticultural commodities such as tomato, onion and potato, etc, for which MSP is not applicable and there is a reduction of at least 10 per cent in market prices in states/UTs as compared to the rates of the previous normal season. The scheme is to ensure farmers are not forced to sell their produce under distress. MIS will be implemented only when there is a minimum reduction of 10 per cent in the prevailing market price as compared to the previous normal year. The procurement/coverage limit of production quantity of crops has been increased from the existing 20 per cent to 25 per cent. The state has also been given the option to pay the difference between the market intervention price (MIP) and the selling price directly into the bank account of the farmers in place of physical procurement. Further, where there is a difference in the price of TOP crops (tomato, onion and potato) between the producing and consuming states, the operational cost incurred in storage and transportation of crops from the producing state to other consuming states will be reimbursed by central nodal agencies such as NAFED and NCCF, in the interest of farmers.

4) Price Stabilisation Funds (PSF): PSF is implemented for not only to mitigate the hardships to consumers on account extreme volatility in prices of agri-horticultural commodities but also to make essential food commodities available at affordable price as well as to protect the farmers from the distress sale of their produce. The integrated Scheme of PM-AASHA is implemented in all states across the country. The government’s intervention through procurement operations under various schemes drives the market upward of various notified crops under MSP. 

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)